NEP 2020 signalled a new vision for school education, offering a much-needed revision and reform agenda to the system. The policy has a vision for fundamental change in how education is delivered, offering new opportunities for schools while ensuring that every school-aged child in India has access to an equitable and high-quality education.

1. Ensure that every child has access to the formal schooling system
   The NEP aims to provide every child from ages 3 to 18 access to education through either public or private schooling options. Consequently, NEP 2020 provides an opportunity for schools to reduce the number of students from socio-economically disadvantaged groups to drop out. The policy states to set up Special Education Zones, increased access to Open and Distance Learning (ODL), Gender Inclusion Fund to ensure a reduction in dropouts and an increased number of options for students from Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs).
2. More holistic, competency-driven learning
   The policy focuses on ensuring students ‘learn to learn’ and advocates an activity-based, experiential learning methodology, with a strong emphasis on choice for students in the schools. NEP has introduced a change in curriculum and pedagogy to ensure students develop outstanding cognitive skills, mathematical and computational thinking, 21st-century skills, and critical thinking skills, among others. These skills will result in a future-ready workforce with the proficiency to meet the changing needs required for future jobs.
3. Assessments as a means, not the end
   One of the most critical NEP 2020 opportunities for schools is to switch from annual examinations to a system of formative assessments to brace the teaching-learning process. Students demonstrate expertise in multiple ways: a low-stakes board exam in 10th grade and multiple assessments throughout the year focusing on demonstrating learning to reduce the fear of examinations and allow students to demonstrate what they have acquired to the best of their abilities.
4. Resource efficient, open and accountable education system
   Another significant NEP 2020 opportunity for schools is to rationalise schools into clusters or complexes to increase the overall utilisation of school infrastructure, improve collaboration between schools and devolve autonomy for schools. NEP 2020 has also introduced multiple ways to introduce uniformity across schools.

The vision of LEAD is to offer maximum NEP 2020 opportunities to schools by building an education system rooted in the Indian spirit that contributes directly to transforming India by offering high-quality education to all, thereby making India a global knowledge superpower. Here is how LEAD is making schools NEP-compliant:

• Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) & Foundational Literacy & Numeracy (FLN)

LEAD imparts strong language learning from early pre-primary years with English Language and General Awareness (ELGA) and Sampoorna Hindi programs. While in class, LEAD embraces activity-based learning to ensure children can easily grasp abstract subjects like Maths.

• Conceptual understanding

LEAD has introduced unique approaches for various subjects to ensure students learn subjects as a skill rather than acquiring just theoretical knowledge. The classroom interactions, routines and activities at LEAD make learning holistic and experiential.

• Integration of Essential Subjects, Skills, and Capacities

LEAD School curriculums include subjects such as Coding & Computational Skills (CCS) program. Rather than simply consuming content through technology, the students become creators by using technology to build apps, websites and games and thus become future-ready.

• Regular formative assessment

At LEAD, assessments target learning outcomes and competency. With doubt-solving sessions, teachers understand students’ struggles and assist them in overcoming their challenges.

• Teacher empowerment

LEAD strongly believes that the young minds of the future will only be strengthened when we empower our educators. Therefore, it offers extensive Teacher Development Workshops (TDWs) to upskill teachers.